Park
by Literature work
Summary: Alphonse visits the park to go see his brother after he has been away for a few months. He finds out something that no one ever would want to hear. please review


**Okay. I am sorry for attempting feels, but this wouldn't be a one shot if I knew how to word everything. I just hope you know what I am trying to get at. Hope you like it! Enjoy!**

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The Park

"Alphonse, what is up with you today?" Riza asked the young suit of armour who was fidgeting in the corner of the restaurant the lot of them were sitting at. Alphonse didn't have to eat, but he seemed to be overly anxious to leave. Riza patted him on the shoulder crest and got up and out of the booth to let the child escape.

"I am going down to the Park to meet brother! He said that we could go to the lake together," Alphonse replied stumbling out of the seat with his huge body. Riza looked at the boy whose red pleading eyes beamed with immense joy. She knew his face could show no emotion, but it was more than she could bear. She let him pass and he thanked her as he raced out of the building. He nearly toppled over several waitresses on the way out because his big form was just too much for the crowded cafe. Riza let out a huff of air as she collapsed in her chair.

"That kid needs to get friends his age," Jean commented from across the table. He had a cigarette sticking out of his mouth and was puffing away at it. The smoke rose in swirly wisps out of his mouth. Riza wiped her eyes and held her hand in her heads. "Why don't you just tell him?"

"He just needs to forget," she mumbled partially to herself. "He just needs to forget."

…..

Alphonse walked down through the park, the low sun glimmering off of his shiny armour. He couldn't feel the soft warmth as it heated up his metal. It was just one thing he missed. Feeling however, was only a sense of touch. He was glad to still be able to feel anything inside of his armour, and right now he was feeling happy, excited, and overjoyed that he was going to be spending a calm afternoon in the park with his brother. Edward had gone on a lot of missions lately that he wasn't allowed to go on. It has been several months since he left Central and this was the first time Edward was coming home for a break. Work really knocked it out of him, Alphonse knew, so he was glad that his brother could get away from all of it for one long day.

Alphonse passed the lake as he walked down the path. There were a few ducks by the bank and a couple elderly folks were feeding them bread crumbs. The old man was whistling as he tossed the bread down to the birds who would gobble up the delicious snack instantly. When Edward and Alphonse first moved to Central when he became a state Alchemist, they would spend a lot of time in the park just to get a break from the office work. It gave them time to get away from the fast busiling world for a while and just relax by the cool waters of the lake. Sometimes a couple of the local children would bribe Edward into the water to play with them. Alphonse was always stuck on the land because he didn't want to rust and his face wasn't all that appealing to little children. When his older brother was splashing around in the water, some of the old folks would offer him some bread to feed the birds with. They never seemed to mind that he was stuck in armour, and neither did the ducks nor his brother.

Alphonse took a seat on one of the cool green metal park benches that were spaced out along the small path around the lake. It was just large enough for him and one other person. Edward always liked to lounge when he sat which took up a lot of the room on the bench, but so did his huge armour. Many people didn't like to sit with them because they took up so much space. The sun rose a bit higher in the sky while Alphonse sat and waited for his brother. It was usual for him to be late. Edward was always lagging behind. Alphonse always liked to joke that it was his short legs that made him slow, he got really mad at that. Edward just always had that sense of serenity which made him stop and slowly enjoy the feel of walking, even though he only had one real leg. Alphonse didn't know that sensation, he couldn't understand the joy of walking, but maybe one day when he got his body back he would be late too like his brother.

It was nearly noon and Alphonse was still sitting on the cool park bench. He looked to his right down the path. There were many people walking, running, and playing around the lake but Edward was no where to be seen. Alphonse let out a sigh as he turned back to twidling his large leather bound thumbs.

"Alphonse what are you looking for?" a voice came out beside him. Stunned, he looked up and saw his brother sitting lazily in the seat next to him. His red coat was all worn out and faded from his travels, but the chain to his silver pocket watch was still shining from the corner of his pocket. Though it has been several months, Edward didn't seem to age a day.

"Brother, when did you get here? I was looking for you!" Alphonse asked him, but he shrugged in reply. The sun glimmered off of the water and there was a slight sparkle that glanced off of Edward's shoulder. A tiny piece of metal could be seen from underneath his coat where his automail started on his shoulder. He has had them for over five years now and Alphonse still notices some instances that it bothers him.

"Brother, how have you been keeping up with your automail? You have been away for a while, you should probably get it checked up on," Alphonse asked him. Edward looked up in surprise as if he was aroused from deep thought and took a quick glance down at his arm. He chuckled a bit.

"I guess i haven't had a tune up in a while. Winry is gonna kill me," he laughed lightly. "How is she doing anyways? I haven't seen anyone in ages."

"Well, we haven't seen you much either since the Briggs explosion. You were imediately sent off on another mission right after recovery. i was the only one you got to say goodbye to," Alphonse noted. Edward nodded his head remembering Alphonse waving him off on the train station. No one else came, which was quite unusual. Normally Winry, Riza, or Armstrong would take them to the trainstation to see them off. Alphonse was the only one that day.

"Hey, Alphonse, Winry was in Central when I left right?" Al nodded in agreement. "Why didn't she come to the trainstation?" The suit of armour shook a bit as he tried to string words into sentences.

"She was really upset at the time," Alphonse finally said. "She didn't go much anywhere for weeks after you left. Winry ended up moving back to Resembool for the time being."

"Why do you suppose she was so upset?" Edward asked, but Alphonse's huge metal sholders lifted up into a shrug.

"I asked her, but she wouldn't tell me," he mumbled. They sat there a while and watched the people walk by. The sun started to sink a bit. It was getting well past one oclock. The sun beams sent sparkles across the water and sillouettes of boaters could be seen from where they sat. It was a silent afternoon and a calm cool breeze was flowing through the trees. It made a hollow whistling sound as the air whirled past and through Alphonse's armour. He bet if he could feel it, it would tickle. All of a sudden a loud gurgling sound rang out and disrupted the peace and calm of the air. Alphonse glanced down to where Edward was clutching his stomach. He was always hungry, but Alphonse could never remember to tell him to grab something to eat. He simply couldn't tell when someone was supposed to be hungry or when they just wanted to be hungry. Alphonse didn't have that sense anymore. He didn't remember what hunger really felt like, just that everyone got it. Even though he couldn't eat, he always enjoyed sitting and watching other people do so. It made him feel like he was full himself. Edward would always try to make sure that they were together during meal times because of that. He always excused it as coincidence or family requirements, but Alphonse always knew that Edward just wanted him to feel more human. They would often come down t the park with packed lunches when Edward didn't have enough money to go out for lunch. Alphonse was always the one who packed them, but he didn't always know when the food was ripe or over done. His brother ate it anyways, simply because he wasn't picky at all. Edward chuckled to himself and stretched out his back as he stood up from the bench.

"Alphonse, I think I am going to go grab something to eat. I will only be five minutes. Do you mind saving my seat?" he asked him. Alphonse nodded his head as his brother smiled at him and walked up the hill towards the small shops and venders on the edge of the park green. Alphonse sat back in on the green metal bench and looked up at the canopy above him. The green leaves sparkled down with the glittering sunlight. They were so lush and full this time of year. Edward used to goof off climbing the limbs of the trees. He would always wand to see how high he could get before the limbs grew too small and weak. He didn't do it as much as he used to, but once in a while Alphonse would pester him into giving it one more go. He couldn't go as high as he used to since he grew a little bit bigger, though many people said otherwise, but it was farther than Alphonse ever climbed. No tree in the park could support the weight of an old fashioned suit of armour like he was. He climbed boulders instead. There were several decorative rocks placed around the park that kids, adults, and suits of armour loved to climb up onto. These were Alphonse's trees, while his brother was up in the green.

The bench shifted a bit as a new weight sat down on top of it. Alphonse looked over to the empty spot that once held his brother to see an elderly lady rest her legs for a moment. She had snow white hair and a sweet smile.

"I am sorry laddy, I am just resting a bit. All of the other benches are full. Was there anyone sitting here?" she asked calmly. Al nodded.

"My big brother Edward was sitting there. He will be back in a couple minutes though," he told her. She smiled and leaned back in her seat setting her cane down next to her. She took up much less room than Edward did simply because she didn't sprawl out across the bench. She just relaxed a bit and looked out across the waters.

"I knew an Edward, he helped me fix my house once. Some sort of alchemy he used. He was a nice boy," she sighed. "I just wondered how he ever got a liscense at that age. He was so young!"

"He's my brother!" Alphonse exclaimed. The old lady looked surprised. Alphonse always took pride in what his brother did, for the most part. Hearing the people of the city and other towns say positive and good things about State Alchemists were rare, but when they did it was often of the Fullmetal Alchemist. Alphonse was happy that Edward was able to change some people's perspectives on the alchemist branch of the Central military.

"Oh, my dear boy I am so sorry!" she said to him symathetically. Alphonse was a little taken aback by that. Sorry? He looked up the hill questionably to see Edward walking back down with a huge unknowing grin on his face. His older brother waved to him and he waved slightly back. The woman looked but didn't seem to find anything of interest up the hill.

"W-what do you mean?" Alphonse asked her. She gasped a bit and reached into her purse and pulled out a Central Newspaper. Alphonse always knew that many people read the news paper in the parks, but he was never one to do it. The last time he actually read the paper was when the startling knews of Ross's arrestment was pasted all ver the pages. Huegh's death hit all of them so hard, he just instantly lost the taste in reading the inky pages of the Central Times. It was like dropping a novel after your favorite character was murdered off, but more personal and permanent. He took it gently from the elderly lady and flushed it open.

"I thought that the relatives would have been the first to know about it, but I guess the news gets around as fast as the paper does," she told him sadly.

"Alphonse, i didn't know you read the paper anymore," Edward said coming up behind him. He leaned ver his shoulder and took a bite out of a sandwich he bout from one of the neighboring stores. It was ham, one of his favourites. Alphonse looked up at him nervously.

"I-I don't-"

"Dear, it is all in the article of the Brigg's accident. It truely was a disaster I am afraid to say. It's alright if you didn't realize, I am guessing no one called you about the final report."

"What final report? Everyone survived," Alphonse said opening the newspaper to the article. A blazing picture of the Northern Wall was in the center of the page. Fire was fuming out of the tops of the mountain as little crowds of tiny people rushed out. Drachma attacked the mountain a few months ago. From what he heard from the Colonel, they had to evacuate nearby towns in order to set up a back up force for the invading Drachma troops, but they never came. The wall was hit only three times before it went up in flames. Major General Armstrong was able to keep the wall together as the troops evacuated the compoud. Unfortunately for the invading armies, with the wall in flames, they couldn't advance. The Injured were treated and moved to the Central hospitals to get out of the way of the buffer zone that the Briggs troops set up incase the wall didn't hold. Edward was one of them, Alphonse knew, but he made it out alright. He looked at his older brother a bit confused, but he was finishing devouring his sandwich.

"You know, I think I would like to come back tomorrow," Edward said as he glanced around the park. The sun was setting and it casted an orange glow over the waters. Evening was Alphonse's favorite part of the day. He would often like to enjoy watching the sunsets in the park with his brother. It reminded him of when they were younger and would always stay up late reading alchemy books or catching fireflies in the summer nights. Edward liked it for just the same reasons if not more, and he leaned over the edge of the bench where he and the lady sat, looking out over the waters. Alphonse wanted to enjoy the sunset as well, but for some reason he couldn't. He looked back over to the elderly lady sitting next to him and saw that she wasn't enjoying it either. She wore a depressed and mournful expression on her face as she looked him over a few times. He couldn't help but notice that it was genuine, but as far as he could tell, there was nothing wrong. Alphonse skimmed through the article until something caught his eye. In the bottom corner, there was a picture of Edward.

"Brother, you're in here!" Alphonse exclaimed. Edward shrugged and ignored the article entirely as he continued to just relax a bit. He was in the newspaper a lot, being the Fullmetal Alchemist. He never actually cared what it said about him anymore. He used to get all rallied up when someone would write something, but now the magic in it just faded away. Alphonse took a glance at the article and started to skim through it. As word after word scrolled by, his armour became rigid and wouldn't seem to move. His leather hands gripped the delicate paper with such force he almost ripped it. The old lady next to him looked rather worried.

"Dear, I am so sorry," she said patting him on the arm. "I thought you already knew." Alphonse wished he could have cried, but he couldn't. Edward leaned over his chair and laid a firm hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, Alphonse, I think I am going to go back. We could meet back here tomorrow if you'd like, but I am pretty tired. I will head on with out you. Is that alright?" he asked as he turned to leave.

"Edward, no! No, no, no," Alphonse muttered to himself.

"Everything will be fine, brother. Just hold up the fort," Edward called out as his mismatched feet walked down the dirt path. Alphonse threw down the obituary and turned to chase after his brother. He didn't want him to leave, not yet. But when he looked up, Edward was already gone as if he was never there. Only one person didn't make it out of the Briggs Crisis. That young boy made it to the hospital, but never made it out. Alphonse's knees collapsed to the ground as he sobbed silently to himself. No tears formed out of his rusty metal eyes, but he tried all the same. The only thing that made him human, finally left him behind. Alphonse looked to the lake where the sun was setting. Only a tiny glimmer was left of the day.

"I am sorry," the woman whispered to him as he tried to comfort him. Alphonse shook his hollow head trying not to believe it.

"You shouldn't be, you did nothing," he choked out.

...

Alphonse walked down the paved path bright and early in the morning. He looked ut on the lake to see that the water had slight ripples in it from the breeze, but there were no boats nor any children playing in the wake. Alphonse slowly took his seat on the bench and pulled out a tiny bag of bread which he brought with him. He tossed some to the ground, but the birds weren't out that early in the morning so none of them came around. He sighed a bit as he leaned back on the cool metal. The park was quiet, much quieter than he ever heard it before. The only thing he heard was the calm sound of the breeze rustling the dull leaves on the trees and whistling through his empty armour. Alphonse sat there until high noon, but still didn't see anyone. There were a couple joggers here and there but no one else came by. Getting a bit down, Alphonse stood to leave. He brushed the uneaten bread crumbs aside and stuffed the bag back into his leather pouch. As he started to walk away he heard a quiet and calm voice behind him.

"Alphonse, where do you think you're going?" Alphonse turned around stunned. Words almost lost him.

"Brother."


End file.
